


A smile for you

by Saetha



Category: The Shannara Chronicles (TV)
Genre: (aka Amberle dealing with the consequences of Cephalo's disgustingness), 5+1 Things, CUTE BABIES BEING CUTE BASICALLY, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Kissing, Princess Rover - Freeform, implication of sexual abuse off-screen, mention of Wil/Amberle
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-17
Updated: 2016-02-17
Packaged: 2018-05-21 04:31:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,303
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6038118
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Saetha/pseuds/Saetha
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>If Amberle loves anything about Eretria the most it has to be her smile. </p><p>Five times Eretria smiled at her and one time Amberle consciously made her smile.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A smile for you

**Author's Note:**

> I felt absolutely *forced* to write this, those two are so incredibly wonderful (and their on-screen chemistry is incredible). Also I have to admit that I haven't read the books yet so this is solely based on the TV series (I'll wait until the series is finished before starting the books I think even though I've heard they're completely different), a quick little thing I wrote tonight. I was also slightly liberal with the plot but I still hope you enjoy the final result!

_Rovers don’t smile,_ Amberle thinks at first. _And if they do, it’s the smile of a shark, devoid of all warmth. There is nothing good in it._

She has been convinced of this ever since she has first met Eretria, has recognised the cunning behind those intelligent eyes of hers. It is on par with that of the elves she has met that were the most adept at intrigues of the court. Eretria isn’t just a rover; she has the intelligence to pursue her own plans and an iron will that will break through everything standing in her way. Amberle almost feels proud of herself when she robs her of her horse the first time – but only almost. She has left her with a kingly gift after all which should make up for everything Amberle had been forced to take from her for the sake of her own survival.

Amberle even apologises for what she has been forced to do when they meet again, in the half-baked hopes that her words might turn the rover’s mind so she would help her flee Cephalo's camp. Of course they don’t, but for the fraction of a moment something akin to a true smile seems to be flickering over Eretria’s face amongst all the contempt for a high-born elf that Amberle can read in there. She is almost looking forward to exchanging sharp words with Eretria again and wishes they could have one of the duels that are custom amongst the elves once they come of age. For some reason she has begun to enjoy those fights, verbal and physical, between them.

*

Eretria looks at Amberle with nothing but contempt and helpless anger written on her face as she stares at the elf through the bars of the prison cell they have put her in. Amberle still isn’t quite sure what she’s supposed to believe –she would never doubt her best friend’s words but still, something about Eretria’s actions just doesn’t sit quite right with her. She hadn’t wanted to admit it at the time, but Eretria had been right – if the rover had truly been wanting to kill her, why hadn’t she tried to so countless times before when there had been much more of an opportunity? And what did it mean that she hadn’t only seen Wil in the dreams that the Ellcrys had sent her, but also Eretria? Even though her abilities could certainly be useful on a quest there would be no way in this world or the next that any of them would work together willingly. And the fact that Wil had been sleeping with her…

Amberle doesn’t even feel betrayed so much by either Wil or Eretria as by herself – for not being able to simply voice all the complicated emotions welling up inside her, for feeling such a petty thing as jealousy and having become entangled in such a complicated web of events. She doesn’t quite know why she has come up to see Eretria – is it simple curiosity or is she trying to reassure herself that was is happening is right?

“Did you just come here to stare, _princess_?” Eretria’s words rip her out of her musings and Amberle frowns. The rover’s voice is sharp and hurtful.

“Why did you try to kill me?” Amberle asks back, getting directly to the heart of the matter. Eretria snorts.

“I didn’t. I don’t know whether you elves are deaf, blind or simply dumb, but it would make no sense for me to do so. All I wanted was Wil’s blue stones. Nothing else.”

Amberle shakes her head, still not knowing what to believe. Eretria confuses her, her straightforwardness and uncouth mouth something that Amberle isn't truly used to. She has never seen herself as spoiled, but looking back she thinks she probably still grew up very sheltered compared to someone who had to fight for her survival ever since she was born.

"I don't know what to think," she tells Eretria. The rover seems to be taken aback by her honesty, a flash of insecurity showing in her eyes and suddenly Amberle remembers the seriousness of the situation - Eretria is facing what is likely going to be serious punishment that might even end her life for nobody in the palace would take the attempted murder of their princess lightly. Behind her cocky facade she has to be terrified. Amberle feels a surge of pity and faint regret run through her.

"Then tell that to your friends so they'll release me," Eretria sneers. Amberle almost doesn't hear the derisive undertone anymore.

"Here," she says instead and holds out her hand through the bars in Eretria's direction. In it is a small pouch that she found on the ground after the guards had captured Eretria. It contains a few rocks and shells, nothing special and yet Eretria had taken it with her all the way to the palace for some reason. "I found it. I thought it was yours."

Eretria looks up and for a moment there is a clear struggle between pride and longing visible on her face; but then she reaches out and snatches the little pouch from Amberle's hands, the shackles around her wrists clinking loudly. Amberle can see a brief smile flicker over Eretria's face as she looks at what clearly have to be precious childhood memories to her before it turns serious again.

"I have no need for your sympathy," she says coldly, but Amberle only smiles a little in response, having seen Eretria's true emotions on her face for a moment. She still harbours some resentment and a lot of confusion against the rover girl, but Amberle also finds something else growing in there by now, a sliver of understanding that she is not yet ready to acknowledge or even think about.

*

"Amberle!" Eretria's voice cuts through the air like a sharpened dagger through flesh.

Amberle looks up, forcing the shadow of a smile onto her face as she sees the rover coming closer. Eretria's frown stays in place, however, even when she offers Amberle a hand up from her seat where she has been sharpening one of her knives.

"What is it?" Amberle wants to know. Eretria's touch on her hand is warm and reassuring, so unlike Cephalo's cold fingers. The memory of them still makes her shudder.

"Wil said he found some tracks in the woods. I thought you might want to come along on the hunt for our food tonight."

Amberle frowns at that, knowing that Eretria would probably rather prefer to hunt alone or leave the task to the soldiers than do it with her. She is on the verge of denying Eretria her request before she decides that some distraction might do her good and lets herself be drawn to her feet by Eretria's strong arms.

"Why'd you leave him alive?" Eretria asks her all of a sudden after a few minutes of silence. There is no need to mention who she means. Amberle shrugs. She'd rather prefer not to be reminded of Cephalo at all, but at the same time she knows the answer is somehow important to Eretria.

"It just...didn't seem right," Amberle tells her after a moment. Yes, she is more hardened than Eretria might think her to be, having seen her father, aunt and others die right in front of her, but there's still a different between seeing someone die, killing someone in a fight for your life and condemning a defenseless man to his death.

"Really? After what he did to you?" There is storm of barely repressed rage in Eretria's voice and Amberle is unexpectedly touched by it.

"Yeah." Amberle shrugs. She doesn't want to let Eretria know that Cephalo still haunts her dreams and that she often wakes up gasping for breath when the touch of his cold fingers in her memories seems to throttle her. She waits for one of Eretria's usual cocky comebacks but there is none, and when she turns around she sees the sympathy in the rover's eyes.

"Come on. Let's go hunting then." Eretria says and there it is again, that brief smile that lights up her face and eyes and seems too infectious. It's the moment that Amberle understand that Eretria _does_ know, that this is the reason why she had come back to rescue her in the first place and that she knows that hunting will serve better than anything else to distract Amberle from the dark corners of her own mind.

*

Amberle's teeth are clattering as she leans forwards to rub her hands over the small fire they have managed to built. In the palace she has never truly had to experience cold as harshly as now - all of the rooms are heated with intricate systems underneath the floor and there is no shortage there of blankets and clothes to keep you warm.

Out here in the wild, however, it's different.

It's not even snowing yet, but the temperature is low enough that the cold creeps into her bones nonetheless. She doesn't even want to imagine what it will be like when they have to climb up onto the icy ridges of the mountain on the morrow.

"Is the princess not used to cold?"

Amberle looks up to see Eretria standing in front of her, wrapped in a thick cloak and with a blanket on her arms. Despite her words, the usual sharp edge to her tone is missing - maybe the cold has taken its toll on her cockiness, too.

"You don't exactly look warm either," Amberle shoots back but as with Eretria, there is no real bite behind her words. Eretria shrugs.

"At least I don't look like my fingers are about to go black and fall off. Here." She tosses the blanket she's carrying at Amberle and plops down on the log next to her. Amberle takes the blanket with a thankful nod and wraps herself in it with trembling fingers. Eretria watches her efforts for a moment and then sighs, catching hold of her hands with a quick movement.

"Hold still," she says, not ungently, as she begins rubbing Amberle's icy fingers. To Amberle's surprise Eretria's hands are warm and it doesn't take long until she feels some warmth returning to her own as well.

"There. Better?" Eretria asks her once Amberle is finally able to feel her hands again.

"Yeah." Amberle flexes her fingers one by one and adds with a smile: "Thank you."

Eretria smiles back and Amberle cannot deny that the smile warms her through and through on the inside.

*

Amberle curses herself mentally. Why did she say no? Why did she not simply see where things would take her? So many have always praised her courage and yet she can't even do such a simple thing as giving up some control over herself. Is because she was thinking about Wil as well when she was sitting in the hot bath, not only the girl in front of her? There is confusion inside her and she wonders if she is even allowed to love and desire two people at the same time - and love them she does, there is no denying the flowers of warmth blossoming inside her chest whenever she thinks about either of them.

She smiles despite herself as she is putting on her clothes after the bath in this strange fort when she remembers Eretria's smile. She has seen it so rarely and yet there's a warmth to it and a radiance that seems to almost transform her complete being into something that Amberle finds herself invariably attracted to, just as she is attracted by Eretria's quick wit and her undeniable skill at fighting and survival. Remembering that smile makes her feel even worse about how she treated Eretria in the bath they just shared and for panicking when she shouldn't have. With a deep breath she takes up all of her courage and knocks on the door to Eretria's room after putting all of her own clothes back on again.

"I'm sorry," she tells Eretria as the rover finally opens the door.

"For what? It was me who stepped out of line." Eretria shrugs, but there is still hurt in her voice.

"No, I'm just..." Amberle sighs helplessly, feeling anger welling up inside at her at the mess that she's suddenly finding herself in. "I panicked. Sorry."

Eretria looks at her face for a moment longer before she nods.

"Alright. Apology accepted," she then says with a grin and suddenly the warmth is back in her face. "Next time tell me sooner, though, or I'll make a fool out of myself again."

*

In the end, Eretria's lips taste the same way her smile makes Amberle feel - warm and soft, but always speaking of the strong will that lies underneath. It is different than Wil, Amberle thinks, but in no way worse. There is safety in this kiss and affection and just a little bit of daring.

They kiss shyly at first, so unlike the heated words they so often throw at each other as if this new area of their relationship is something they still have to explore bit by bit. Amberle forgets about the dusty remnants of a long-forgotten past that has been buried underground around them and the seriousness of the situation and finally allows herself to lose control just a little bit, giving it all to Eretria in whose hands she knows that piece of her soul will be safe.

Amberle opens her eyes again for a moment and locks them with Eretria's allowing herself to drown in the depth of her gaze.

"So...the princess and the rover, hu?" She can feel a girlish little grin tug at her lips.

Eretria simply smiles her radiant smile and pulls her close again.


End file.
